“We [father and son] were
tortured in the same manner:
suspension from a bed upsidedown, suffocation by putting
plastic bags on our heads,
beatings, use of electric shocks
on various parts of the body.
The suspension is for about 30
minutes... I was tortured three
times. They used electric shocks
on me twice. I was beaten
several times. After that I
confessed. I confessed to things
I never knew what they were.”
An Iraqi detainee, speaking to Amnesty International in
April 2010

BACkGROUND
Almost eight years since the March 2003
US-led invasion, Iraq remains one of the most
dangerous countries in the world. Violence
has continued unabated and serious human
rights abuses have been committed by all
sides, some amounting to war crimes.
Armed groups have killed thousands of
civilians, including members of ethnic and
religious minorities, in suicide bomb and
other attacks. They have also kidnapped,
tortured and then killed many others.
Iraqi and US forces have detained tens of
thousands of people without charge or trial,
some for up to seven years, often without

access to lawyers and with no opportunity
to challenge the legality of their detention
before an independent tribunal. They have
tortured detainees to force them to “confess”
and subjected them to grossly unfair trials.
The death penalty has been used extensively;
up to 1,300 prisoners are on death row.
The new Iraqi government, finally formed in
December 2010 after elections nine months
earlier, faces enormous challenges in the face
of continuing violence, a ruined infrastructure,
widespread poverty and an ailing economy.
Among those challenges is ensuring that
prisoners are kept safe and well.

“[The detainees were]
blindfolded and bound, and
beaten with industrial cable
and pieces of wood in order
to extract a confession.”
Extract from a US military document released by Wikileaks,
describing an incident of torture by the Iraqi security forces

Amnesty Interntaional has built up a grim
picture of widespread abuse of detainees
committed with impunity – a picture
reinforced by the thousands of previously
unavailable US government documents
released in October 2010 by the
organization Wikileaks.
In early 2009, as US forces began
transferring detainees they had arrested
and held to the custody of Iraqi authorities,
Amnesty International and other human
rights organizations warned that these
prisoners would be at grave risk of torture
in Iraqi-run prisons if rigorous safeguards
were not implemented. The US government
ignored these warnings and no effective
human rights guarantees were put in place.
An estimated 30,000 men and women
remain in custody despite the release of
hundreds of detainees and a 2008 amnesty
law that provides for the release, in most
cases, of detainees held without trial after

The Iraqi Council of Representatives
(parliament) passed a law in 2008 ratifying the
UN Convention against Torture, but to date the
Iraqi government has yet to deposit the relevant
papers with the UN. There is no indication that
the government intends to ratify the Optional
Protocol to the Convention against Torture,
which calls for the establishment of a national
preventive mechanism and openness to
regular visits by national and international
bodies to detention centres.

offence. All these detainees are at grave
risk of enforced disappearance, torture or
other ill-treatment.
In recent years, the Iraqi authorities have
announced investigations into some highprofile cases of alleged torture, but the
outcomes of these investigations, if they
took place, have not been disclosed and
the perpetrators have not been brought to
justice. This has served only to deepen the
culture of impunity.

USE OF TORTURE
Iraqi security forces use torture and other
ill-treatment to extract “confessions” when
detainees are held incommunicado,
especially in detention facilities – some secret
– controlled by the Ministries of Interior and
Defence. The Central Criminal Court of Iraq
(CCCI), which sits in Baghdad and other
provinces, often convicts defendants on the
basis of these “confessions”, despite clear
evidence of torture in many cases.
The Iraqi Human Rights Ministry stated in its
2009 annual report that it had recorded 509
allegations of torture by Iraqi security forces.
Amnesty International believes that this
disturbingly high number is actually a gross
underestimate of the scale of the abuse.

six or 12 months, depending on the alleged

Accounts of torture reported to Amnesty
International over the years include rape
and threat of rape, beatings with cables and
hosepipes, electric shocks, suspension by
the limbs, piercing the body with drills,

Amnesty International February 2011

Index: MDE 14/001/2011

“…That night [the sergeant]
heard whipping noises walking
through the hallway and opened
a door to find [one lieutenant]
with a 4 gauge electrical cable,
whipping the bottom of a
detainee's feet. Later that
night, [a sergeant] caught [one]
lieutenant whipping a detainee
across his back with an
electrical cable….”
Extract from a 2006 US military document released by
Wikileaks, describing an incident of torture by the Iraqi police

asphyxiation with plastic bags, removal of
toenails with pliers, and breaking of limbs.
Children, women and men have all suffered
these abuses.

“The most horrible method is
asphyxiation by plastic bag. You
don’t last for more than 5 or 10
seconds and you start running
out of breath. Then you are
basically forced to say I will
confess and sign anything you
want me to sign. The guards
called the method ‘oxygen’.”
Former Iraq detainee, speaking to Amnesty International in
May 2010

In June 2009, a human rights body affiliated
to al-Diwaniya governorate in southern Iraq
accused the security forces of torturing
detainees to extract “confessions”. Ministry
of Interior investigators subsequently reported
that 10 of the 170 prisoners at al-Diwaniya
prison had bruising that could have been
caused by torture or other ill-treatment. Video
footage apparently taken by a prison guard
and later circulated on the internet showed
a prisoner lying with his hands tied behind
his back being whipped by guards and given
electric shocks until he passed out. One
guard is heard to say, “He is done”.
US government documents made available
by Wikileaks describe how detainees were
forced to “confess” under torture to
“terrorism”, killings, assault or even selling
drugs. One document describes how
Iraqi forces beat and kicked two detainees
for allegedly drinking wine and trying to
steal bananas.

IMpAcT ON vIcTIMS AND ThEIR
FAMIlIES
The impact of torture on the health of victims
extends beyond the immediate feeling of pain
or fear. Longer-term consequences include
chronic infections, psychological problems,
disfigurement, scarring, damage to internal
organs, broken bones, and nerve damage.
Among former Iraqi detainees who
described to Amnesty International how
torture had ravaged his life permanently
was Riyad. The abuses he suffered
seriously damaged his liver, so he needs
costly and specialized medical care,
probably including a liver transplant and
life-long medications and monitoring.

depression, anxiety and memory loss. Many
of the detainees interviewed by Amnesty
International are not receiving psychological
support for the torture they endured.
Torture also affects families of detainees.
According to the International Rehabilitation
Council for Torture Victims, children are
particularly vulnerable. They can suffer
feelings of guilt and personal responsibility
for what has happened to their tortured
parent. Family members also experience
anxiety and a sense of loss. Many
psychologists believe that family members
would benefit from therapy along with the
survivor of torture.

Most torture victims have long-term
psychological issues to deal with. A
common consequence of torture is
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
including flashbacks, nightmares,

SExUAl vIOlENcE
In Iraq, rape or threat of rape of detainees
or their loved ones has been widely alleged.
Sexual assault shares with other forms of
torture the objective of inflicting suffering,
humiliation and degradation. It is also used
to force “confessions”, extract information
or punish detainees.
A member of Iraq’s parliament who met
four male inmates at al-Rusafa prison in
Baghdad in June 2009 said they told him
that they had been raped and otherwise
tortured, and that he had seen marks
on their bodies that supported their
allegations. Hundreds of inmates at the
prison went on hunger strike in May and
June 2009 to demand an end to torture
and other ill-treatment.
Other Iraqi members of parliament have
raised serious concerns about sexual
violence in prisons. In mid-June 2009,
for example, one said that security forces
had sexually assaulted at least 21 male
detainees at al-Rusafa and al-Diwanya
prisons in southern Iraq since the beginning
of the year. In May 2009, a delegation
from the Council of Representatives’
Human Rights Committee visiting alKadhimiya women’s prison in Baghdad
heard testimony from two female prisoners
who said they had been raped repeatedly
after their arrest.

Above: Rahiba al-Qassab holds a picture of
herself and her husband, Ramze Shihab
Ahmed, in their home in London, the UK.
Ramze Shihab Ahmed was raped and
otherwise tortured in Iraq after he travelled
there to secure the release of his son Omar.

Ramze Shihab Ahmed, a 68-year-old man
with dual Iraqi-UK citizenship, was held
incommunicado and tortured, including by
being raped with a stick, after he travelled
to Iraq to secure the release of his son
Omar. Both men were beaten, suffocated,
given electric shocks to the genitals, and
suspended by the ankles. Interrogators
also threatened to rape Ramze’s first wife,
who lives in Mosul, in front of him, and
threatened Omar that he would be forced
to rape his father if he did not confess to
killings. Both men signed “confessions”.

Right: The courtyard of a prison in the
Kurdistan region of Iraq, June 2010

and vagina that cause long-term pain;
and bruising. Women can also suffer from
unwanted pregnancy and gynaecological
problems resulting in infertility.
The long-term mental effects on both sexes
can include depression, anxiety, substance
abuse, phobias, eating and sleep disorders,
PTSD and suicidal behaviour.

Rape or threat of rape has serious
psychological and physical effects on
survivors. The physical consequences for
men and women can include sexually
transmitted infections, such as HIV; sexual
dysfunction; tears or lacerations to the anus

Governments are obliged to address the
harm caused by torture. Article 14 of the
UN Convention against Torture requires the
state to compensate and rehabilitate victims
of sexual abuse and other torture.

Amnesty International February 2011

Index: MDE 14/001/2011

“He said they raped him with a
stick in ‘the back’ and all the
time they put the plastic bag on
his head until he lost all
feelings. Then they would wake
him up with the electric shocks.
And many things, very bad
things. Every time they raped
him from ‘the back’ all the
blood would come from inside.
And he would lose his feelings
all the time.”
Rabiha Al-Qassab, wife of Ramze Shihab Ahmed, speaking
to Amnesty International in October 2010

OvERcROwDINg AND pOOR
pRISON cONDITIONS
Overcrowding is a serious problem in most
Iraqi prisons and many detainees suffer
health problems as a result. According to
the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq
(UNAMI), one prison was so overcrowded
in 2008 that detainees had to sleep in shifts
and hang their belongings from a wall to
save space.

“If someone is eight years in
prison without a trial and then
another 15 years after the trial,
what type of psychological
condition do you expect that
person to be in?'

carry only 20 people each. They were
transferred from Camp Taji to al-Rusafa
Prison, at least an hour away by vehicle.
The vans had no windows or ventilation.
When they arrived at the prison, 22
detainees had collapsed. Seven died in
hospital as a result of asphyxiation.

Wife of a detainee, speaking to Amnesty International in
June 2010

The problems for Iraq’s detainees caused
by poor prison conditions are compounded

and humiliation experienced by prisoners
who are forced to use the toilet and bathroom
in public can cause great distress. Many
detainees in Iraq have been kept in such
conditions for many years without charge or
trial, adding to their torment.

Overcrowding in detention centres facilitates
the spread of diseases and stretches the
ability of staff to meet the needs of
detainees. Shortages of clean water and
adequate sanitation facilities can lead
to diarrhoeal diseases. Cramped spaces
and poor ventilation can lead to the spread
of respiratory infections and skin diseases.
In addition, the anxiety, sleep deprivation

On 12 May 2010, nearly 100 detainees
were crammed into two vans designed to

Amnesty International February 2011

Index: MDE 14/001/2011

The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Body of
Principles for the Protection of All Persons
under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment
require states to provide medical services,
hygienic facilities, room for exercise and
acceptable accommodation and nutrition for
those in their custody.

BROKEN BODIES, TORTURED MINDS
ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF DETAINEES IN IRAQ

bathroom in the detention facility at the US-run
Forward Operating Base Justice in Baghdad’s
Khadhimiya neighbourhood, 23 July 2007
Above: Marks apparently caused by torture on
the body of ‘Adnan ’Awad al-Jumaili, who died
in Iraqi custody in May 2007

“They took two of us to a
stadium of the army in Mosul
where underneath one of the
stands was a secret detention
facility. It was a small room and
they put us in there. All in all
we were 69 detainees in that
room. [After they moved us to
another prison] they put us in
small rooms; 25 detainees
per room. The rooms did not
have windows. The rooms were
5 x 4 metres.”
An Iraqi detainee, speaking to Amnesty International in
May 2010

by a lack of adequate medical care,
treatment and medicines. Often, families
of detainees feel they must buy medicine
they can ill afford and take it to the prison.
Some have complained that prison guards
take the medicine from families, promising
that they will pass it on to detainees, and
sometimes then confiscate it.
Pressure on the government to provide
medical care has produced results. From
at least mid-2010, Amnesty International
and the Belgian Embassy in Jordan
appealed to the Iraqi authorities to provide
urgently needed medical care to Oussama
‘Attar, a Belgian national. Within months he
was reported to be receiving the treatment
he needed.

Principle 24 of the UN Body of Principles
makes clear that a proper medical
examination must be offered as soon as
possible after someone has been detained or
imprisoned, and afterwards medical care and
treatment must be provided whenever
necessary. This care and treatment should be
provided free of charge.

DEAThS IN cUSTODy
Dozens of detainees have died as a result
of torture or other ill-treatment since 2004.
Death certificates often fail to mention the
medical evidence of torture and frequently
attribute deaths to “heart failure” or “heart
attack” without any pathological finding
to justify this diagnosis. Human rights
organizations have reported that evidence
of torture, such as marks of beatings and
burns, have been found on detainees’ bodies.
Some detainees have died because of the
lack of health care. For example, Ibrahim
‘Abdel-Sattar, a former senior army officer
in the previous Ba’ath administration, died in
al-Kadhimiya prison on 29 October 2010.
He had allegedly been denied treatment
for stomach cancer until he was taken to
al-Karkh hospital the day before he died.
Often, families are not informed until weeks
after their loved one had died, in some
cases after the body has been buried.
‘Adnan ’Awad al-Jumaili died in Iraqi
custody in May 2007 apparently after
he had been beaten. Three Iraqi
physicians who carried out an autopsy
found extensive bruising; internal bleeding
in the brain, neck and abdomen; and
damage to his lungs. Photographs
obtained by Amnesty International
show extensive bruising on the back
and lacerations around the wrists. The
body was not returned to his family;
it was reported to have been buried by
the authorities in the city of Najaf.

Amnesty International February 2011

ÂŠ AP Photo/Hadi Mizban

A recently released Iraqi detainee greets his mother outside a US military detention facility in the Dora neighbourhood of Baghdad, 13 April 2009